Tire pressure sensors have long been used to sense the pressure of tires to indicate when the tire is below a predetermined tire pressure. These sensors use various means, typically diaphragms screwed into tire valve stems and responsive to tire pressure for activating an electrical switch for generating an alarm. Various types of tire monitoring systems have been used to provide continuous vehicle tire pressure sensing and monitoring during vehicular operation. Such systems typically include a monitor located in the passenger compartment of the vehicle for receiving encoded transmitted signals for respective tires and for alerting the vehicular operator through the use of audio alarms and graphic display indicators. The ability to selectively sense the pressure of each tire is desirable so that the subject tire can then be inflated to proper air pressure levels for safety and long tire wear life.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,453,737 (the '737 patent), the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, teaches a particularly notable tire pressure sensory and monitoring system and method of use. The system includes a plurality of air pressure sensor modules and a monitor. Each air pressure sensor module is secured to a respective valve stem of a respective tire of a vehicle and is in data communication with the monitor. Together, the monitor and the tire pressure sensor modules alert a driver (by way of an alert light and/or an alert buzzer) in the event that a particular tire's pressure drops below a preprogrammed low tire air pressure trigger value. In this way, the system monitors individual tires and generates alerts based on a static trigger value.
Although the '737 patent teaches a superior tire pressure sensory and monitoring system and method of use compared to those of the prior art at the time, it would be beneficial if the system monitored each tire as part of a tire system and/or generated alerts based on dynamic trigger values. It would also be beneficial if the system prioritized alerts so that a driver could more readily ascertain the most critical alert so as to be better informed as to whether an alert required immediate attention or whether the driver could safely proceed under the current conditions. It would still further be beneficial if the system included a user interface and a password-protected administrative interface so that a driver could not change the alert conditions of the system. The present inventive concept provides these and other benefits not currently provided by systems and methods of the prior art.